By ADRIAN STEWART CO
King Caralipio capped his collegiate career with a sterling performance as Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights bagged the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball title with an 81-67 win over College of St. Benilde Blazers at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City on Sunday, December 18.
Caralipio, one of the four graduating players of the Knights, posted a solid double-double 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Knights captured their third straight championship with a 2-1 win in their best-of-three series.
He shone the brightest among the Knights as he led the squad’s frenetic 19-2 scoring barrage in the second quarter that turned a 32-26 lead to a 51-28 advantage with two minutes left in the opening half.
The Blazers attempted to come close several times in the third quarter as they cut the deficit to 14 points, but Brent Paraiso, Tommy Olivario and Caralipio answered back to preserve the win.
“Lahat ng sakripisyo namin nagbunga na,” Caralipio said, who was later hailed as the Finals MVP.
“Last laro ko na ito, ga-graduate na ko kaya binuhos ko na lahat ng kaya ko para makuha itong championship,” he added.
Paraiso, a transferee from the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, ended his collegiate career with 16 points, including two triples, while Kobe Monje also ended with double-digits for Letran with 11 markers.
The victory completed the NCAA three-peat for the Knights — a feat the school has not achieved since Samboy Lim led the school to an NCAA hat trick from 1982 to 1984.
“Palagi ko sinasabi na I’m proud of my players,” Knights head coach Bonnie Tan said.
“Mula sa third stringers namin hanggang sa mga graduating players, proud ako kahit ano mangyari kahit manalo o matalo kami,” he said.
“Alam naman nating lahat na from the start, hirap na hirap kami. We had a depleted lineup. With the coaches, na-solve naman natin kahit papano,” the three-peat NCAA champion coach added.
Negrense Miggy Corteza led the way for the runner-up Blazers with 14 points and seven rebounds, while James Pasturan and NCAA Season 98 MVP awardee Will Gozum added 10 markers each.
LETRAN 81 — Caralipio 20, Paraiso 16, Monje 11, Reyson 8, Sangalang 8, Santos 7, Olivario 4, Go 4, Guarino 2, Javillonar 1, Tolentino 0, Bojorcelo 0.
CSB 67 — Corteza 14, Pasturan 10, Gozum 10, Oczon 9, Sangco 6, Nayve 6, Flores 5, Marcos 3, Cullar 2, Carlos 2, Davis 0.
Quarterscores: 24-21, 51-33, 70-54, 81-67./ASC, WDJ